Comments on: Breaking a dog’s ball obsession: Days 7-10

By: K9 Amiga

K9 Amiga — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:24:13 +0000

this is a great picture!

K9 Amigas last blog post..In Dog I Trust,

By: Doggie Sensei

Doggie Sensei — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:48:04 +0000

I really admire your approach and your patience. I like the aspect of practicing at home and at the park, as many times our dogs think that “out there” is the land-free-rules-where-I-can-chase-squirrels-see-ya. I bet that working the various settings re-enforces the news habits more quickly. Keep it up!

By: AprylDeLancey

AprylDeLancey — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:15:57 +0000

I really enjoy the pics that you include. Ace looks so innocent here as if to say, “See how good I am!”

By: Bonnie Story

Bonnie Story — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:30:43 +0000

Hi! This is reminding me of the first few commands I learned to help with Pepper. One was “find it” but what that did for me was to help her relax around other dogs. She would often focus on a dog who’s butt she wanted to kick, get stiff as a board with the hair going up. The other dog would see this and inevitably respond with their own comments… but if I dropped a treat nearby and told Pepper to Find it, her body language would break up, she’d drop her stare and sniff around, she’d do something besides fixate ridigly on the other dog, and he other dog wouldn’t feel rudely threatened. So it did help quite a bit while Pep grew out of her punk stage.

Another command, “Watch me” helped too, and it was about eye contact. The trainers had us hold up a treat at eye level, then when Pepper looked up at me I’d give her some praise and then ask her to sit, down or something, or “find it”. It was a great way to get her puppy head snapping up and eye contact right away. Now she does it without treats since I might be pointing out a mousie hole or something top priority…

Anyway, blah-blah I’m enjoying your taking on the ball fixation. I really admire your work – and is it just the pictures or does Ace seem to have tons more character in his eyes now? I keep seeing more and more expression in his face. I think you are really helping him grow. Great job. — Bonnie

By: Saint Lover

Saint Lover — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:18:32 +0000

Great job Lindsay. Sounds like you are making some real headway. Keep up the positive reinforcement. You are doing great with the creative management aspect.

By: Marie

Marie — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:55:09 +0000

That’s great that Ace is giving you and “leave it” and is able to concentrate on another task of finding a different object. It sounds like you’re making great progress already! Awesome!!!

Maries last blog post..Wordless Wednesday 09-10-08